Guatemala - 2010

Day 01 - July 20 - Travel and Mexico City

I had 12 hours of layover in Mexico City (yes – 12!). After getting this itinerary, I decided quickly to try to escape the airport and see a bit of Mexico . After customs (which is easy when you don't have more than to small backpacks) I paid $10 for a locker for my things (almost everything, including traveler's checks and cash), got cash out of an ATM, and got directions to the Metro.

 

The Metro was not recommended by everyone on the internet, but was very easy, cheap, and I never felt unsafe. The cost is $3 pesos (less than a quarter) each way. It is set up like any subway: look for the signs that give the final station on that line and get off when you get to the transfer spot you need. Each station has a name and a symbol. The picture for my final station ( Chapultepec ) was el saltamontes (I knew this word, already: grasshopper).

The only thing other than normal new things was talking to a passenger that was reading Harry Potter in Spanish. It was a good adventure, less sterile than a cab or tourist bus. Some interesting things I saw: 1) A public service announcement about separating trash into organic and inorganic wastes. It wasn't clear how they are going to deal with the organic material, but at least they are going to try. 2) There are lines during certain times (night, I think) just for women and children. And there are supposedly separate cars for them, too. 3) In one place they had several antibacterial gel dispensers to combat disease. I didn't see anyone use them.

 

I thought my final station would be right next to the museum/zoo, but it wasn't. A kind person told me that the museum was 10 or 15 minutes walk from the station and told me to take a bus. The bus was a microbus, which can only carry 15 or so passengers, but this time there were only 2. It cost $3.50 pesos (again, about a quarter).

The Museum of Anthropology is one of the biggest in the Americas . I would say it is like the Natural History Museum in NY and just as impossible to see or absorb in a single day.

It was possible to rent an audio tour in English, but I chose not to. I was there to learn Spanish! And I was surprised how well I did reading all of the placards in Spanish. Some have English, too, but only a small portion. I did need my electronic translator for some words, some of which came back over and over, which taught me more vocabulary, too.

This was at the end of the hominid exibit. The pictures change with your angle: face or skull. It is to compare the skulls of the many people and races.

Reproduced cave wall with hieroglyphs.

I don't even know which culture made these hand size figurines.

There were entire rooms about the Mayans or the Olmecs or the Mexicas, etc. The history of Mexico is so much richer than I ever thought possible.

I'm not sure, but I think this was close to the Mayan section.

It is about 4 feet in height.

They even had life size replicas of some facades inside. This one has displays under the front entrance.

In one part of the Mayan hall they had a pyramid spread throughout 3 floors, so as you descended you would be descending into the tomb. At the bottom level they had a tomb with the top off as they found it.

And I was surprised to find elaborate displays outside. They built replicas of temples and tombs outside. Some were life size. Some were probably scale models, but they were all impressive.

The large head is Olmec and is 4 or 5 feet tall.

 

Here is one of the life size temples outside. Inside are exact replicas of the paintings and writings.

This is the farthest room that is dedicated to the Aztecs. It was huge. Notice the size of the stone at the back. I don't know if it is a calendar or a stone for human sacrifices. Such stones have a channel in the top for the blood to run through.

An outside exhibit of a ball game the Mayans placed. It was the precursor to soccer, I believe, and is still played today by a few. Players try to get the rubber ball thru the rings with their shoulders or elbows. For certain fouls they would be executed. Many times the information would say that enemies were then taken to the ball game.

The roof of the center of the museum. This is looking toward the enterance. This structure is held up by just one column, which is offset toward the enterance. It is very impress up close.

The reeds are part of a pool that has ducks and turtles and is primarily a resting place.

 

Sometime in the afternoon it began to rain and rain hard! Fortunately, my raincoat was NOT back in the locker in the airport.

When I finally left, around 5:30 p.m. or so, I bought food in front of the museum with the locals. And with the locals I ate it under the tarps as the rain poured. And easy bus ride and metro ride and I was back at the airport with at least 3 hours left before my flight. A successful adventure, indeed.